Getting Referrals

One of the most difficult parts of selling is prospecting, or getting
new customers. By far the most powerful thing you can have when approaching new
people is a referral from their colleagues, friends or others they respect.

The big question that comes before using
referrals is getting the referrals in the first place.

When and why it works

Getting referrals can be gained any time: after you are turned away, after
closing the deal, after great service or just any time!

After refusal

After you have been turned away or not made the sale is a great time to ask
for a referral. But why should a person give you a referral when they could
easily just blow you off? The basic answer is that it gives them an opportunity
for absolution from the sin of saying no.

There is a basic social
moral that
says 'help others', which makes people want to be nice. We generally dislike
refusing and turning away other people, so when we say no, we are more likely to
agree to give a referral to the sales person.

The basic exchange is thus they give you referrals in exchange for your
forgiveness for them not being able to spend more time with you or buy your
products and services.

After the close

After people have bought from you, they are feeling the post-close warmth and
are thus more ready to help you. This also helps them justify to themselves why
they signed the deal ('It's such a great bargain, I should let others into the
secret').

If you have made concessions during the negotiation, then they may feel
further obliged to offer you a referral in compensation.

After great service

If you sell someone a great product or give them great service, particularly
if you have just put yourself 'above and beyond' expectations, to help them,
then they will be ready to help you in return by giving you a good referral.

Any other time

People will give you referrals when you meet in the bar, on the bus or any
time you can speak with them. You are paying them attention, helping them feel
good. In return, they may give you a great referral.

Avoiding the referral traps

There are several traps in seeking referrals that can lead to you being given
the wrong person or no person at all.

Asking incorrectly may dissuade the other person from giving you names of
other people. If they are not interested in you or what you have to sell, then
they may well be unwilling to foist you on their friends. Do remember that by
giving a referral, they are putting their necks on the line. If you annoy the
referred person, then that person will likely complain to the referrer.

Worse than giving you no referrals is fobbing you off with a worthless
referral, thus wasting your time further.

The 'anyone' trap

Asking 'Is there anyone else...' is first a
closed
question to which it is easy to say 'no'. Also when you ask 'anyone' it does
not really help the other person to think about specific people you can call.

Always ask for a specific 'who', not a general and vague 'anyone' or
'someone'.

The 'wants product' trap

Asking for who 'may want the product' may result in the other person trying
to think of somebody who has been asking for a product or service like yours.
And of course there will be very few or none of these.

The trick to get around this is to ask for who has the type of problems
that your product or service resolves. The other person is much more likely
to know this.

Who do you know who is having product reliability problems?

Can you tell me who here is having issues computer support
issues?

Building it in

The key to real success in referrals is to build requesting referrals right
into your sales process.

Ask regularly

Asking for referrals occasionally will get you only limited referrals. You
can get many more valuable referrals by doing it regularly.

Put it on the form

If you use a sales call form (paper or electronic), filling in details of
each sales visit or call, then include a section of the form that has fields for
referral details.

Get full detail

Do make sure you get full details. This includes the name of the person,
contact information for them, their job title, the relationship with the
referrer and further information about their situation.